First of all, let me say that if this blog seems a little dark that wasn't my intention. I write from where I am at a particular time. What I see, feel and think.

Right now i think, life is tough. We all get battered and bruised. Not one of us gets through unscathed. Some seemingly deal with major trauma, cuts that run deep. Scars that take time to heal. The mother that loses a child, the child that loses a parent. Some people are traumatized beyond comprehension. 
At times, it all seems pointless and random. I don't mean that in a dire way, more a factual way. If you are going to be affected by trauma, there isn't much you can do. Very fatalistic or a fatalism philosophy, I guess.

But I am not fatalist. I do believe in free will. I believe we make choices in this life that affect not only our course but the course of others. I don't know and may never know how these two work. 

A great priest once said "you can't control how you feel but you can control how you act".  You can't always control what this life is going to throw your way, but you can control how you handle it. How you let it effect you. 

What do you choose to see? A somber funeral for a young man so lost as to take his own life, yes absolutely and how sad.  But I also see a tremendous outpouring of love and support for his family. People standing in line for hours to let his mother know she is not alone. 

As my family was profiled on national television, I felt very exposed and still do. It is tough for me to let people in, but the outpouring of love, support and prayers has been incredible. 

Everything we go through in this life makes us who we are. Every scar, every cut, every bruise and every joy, every blessing, every sparkling moment, join together to make us who we are. We are all unique in what we go through, what we deal with. But we are all the same in wanting to be loved and supported.